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Japanese scuba divers rescued in Indonesia, three days after disappearance

Five of seven divers who had been missing off the coast of Bali since Friday were discovered by fishermen on a coral reef, police say.

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Five of seven Japanese scuba divers were rescued after fishermen discovered them clinging to coral reef. Rough Cut (no reporter narration).(REUTERS)

By The Associated Press

Mon., Feb. 17, 2014

BALI, INDONESIA—Five of the seven Japanese scuba divers who had been missing near Indonesia’s resort island of Bali since last week were found alive on Monday, police said.

Local police chief Maj. Nyoman Suarsika said the five women were discovered by fishermen on a coral reef near Nusa Penida island.

He said one person was in critical condition and was flown by helicopter to a hospital in Jimbaran, a fishing port. The four others would be evacuated by boat, he said.

Rescuers were continuing to search for the other two divers.

The group of six women and one man, including two instructors, disappeared Friday afternoon while diving around mangroves off Bali’s southeast coast, when strong winds and heavy rain hit the area. Poor weather hampered rescue efforts.

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Nusa Penida is about 20 kilometres east of Denpasar, Bali’s capital.

A Japanese scuba diver arrives in Denpasar, on the Indonesian island of Bali, after being rescued from a coral reef on Monday. Five of seven divers who went missing on Friday have been found. (SONNY TUMBELAKA / AFP/GETTY IMAGES)

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